James Corden and Adele
LOS ANGELES -- James Corden revealed Monday night to his TV audience that the biggest recording artist in the world will appear Wednesday on "Carpool Karaoke," his signature "Late, Late Show" bit in which celebrities let down their hair, dueting with the amiable host while cruising down the street. But after the taping, TV critics got a sneak preview of the entire 13-minute segment, in which Adele brandishes her image as the superstar-next-door by enthusiastically rapping and doing a spot-on rendition of a Spice Girls hit.
During the after party on set, Corden said that viewers needn't worry about him getting some of today's biggest names into a fender bender; for the bit, he rarely goes above 11 mph and there are production cars in front of him to make sure there are no "surprise" guests.
Also at the get together, executive producer Ben Winston let slip that Elton John will participate in "Carpoool Karaoke" during a special episode of "Late, Late Show" following the Super Bowl on Feb. 7.
The event, which featured a particularly laid-back Morgan Freeman crashing the critics' party, followed a set visit to "Supergirl" earlier in the day and a chance to grab lunch at The Smokehouse, an LA restaurant so legendary that George Clooney named his production company after it.
Back at the hotel, one-last reminder that I'm in la-la land.
I caught the end of the Alabama-Crimson football game in the hotel bar where one patron was unabashedly offering running commentary and predicting upcoming plays. Oh, great, I thought. Another, stool- bound know-it-all.
It wasn't until the nail biter was over that I took a closer look at the guy sitting next to me: Former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Phil Simms.
